Pokemon Johto Adventure
by sprinter1988
Summary: Follow Gold, Crystal and their Pokemon pals through the land of Johto, where they face off against strong Gym Leaders, thieving rivals and the villainous Team Rocket. Are they destined to join the best of the best, or be just two more regular trainers? Now on Hiatus due to another project.
1. Prologue

**Right, here we go with a new Pokémon story. This one does not follow the anime, but rather follows the general storyline of the games Gold/Silver/Crystal/Heart Gold/Soul Silver. The main characters are Gold and Crystal, and the rival is Silver, ****however**** they are ****not**** the characters from the Pokémon Special/Adventures Manga! Although they may capture some of the same Pokémon (for example, all their starters are the same as in the manga), they are not the same. Also we will be seeing both Red and Leaf in this, in far more expanded roles than the earlier mentioned games gave them. However, neither of them will be seen for a while, I know for a fact that I'll introduce Red properly at the Lake of Rage, but be may make a cameo before then. I'm not sure when Leaf will be introduced, probably around the same time, but the situation will be a different one.**

**That said, the following Prologue is mostly an overview of the adventures of Red and Leaf, and in in fact almost word-for word the same as the prologue found in '**_**The Official Pokémon Johto Guide & Pokédex' Volume One**_** for HG/SS as released in the UK by The Pokémon Company International. I don't know if those reading in America got the same prologue, but it fits. You may have read it when playing the games, but read it as written here; it works really well as the introduction to this story.**

**Anyway, that's enough from me, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own the Pokémon franchise, I make no money, and this is just for fun. Usual credit goes to Nintendo, Game Freak, Pokémon Company, Satoshi Tajiri etc.**

Johto Adventure

_Prologue: A Kanto Tale..._

One day, two youths from Pallet Town were called to meet Professor Oak, a renowned Pokémon researcher.

When the youths arrived at Professor Oak's Pokémon Lab, a wonderful proposal awaited;

"There are two Pokémon here... You can have one each. Go on, choose!"

So the youths chose between Pikachu and Clefairy, picking the Pokémon that seemed best.

Then along came a rival – Blue.

Blue immediately challenged the boy youth to a Pokémon Battle.

But the youth defeated Blue's Eevee with his Pikachu, showing great skill in doing so.

After seeing how well the youth and his Pikachu battled, Professor Oak knew he had found a great talent. The Professor then gave the youths an important mission.

That mission was to complete the Pokédex, a task that would require travelling through the entire Kanto region and catching all of the 151 kinds of Pokémon said to live there!

With hearts full of passion, the youths set out on the journey.

The youths set off in different directions, each with two goals in mind.

The first was, of course, to complete the Pokédex.

The other was to defeat all the Pokémon Gym Leaders throughout the Kanto region, triumph over the Pokémon League, and become the Pokémon League Champion!

The road ahead would be long indeed.

But the youths threw Poke Balls, caught Pokémon, and – along with new friends – began to make their dreams reality.

At the first Gym the youths defeated the Pewter City Gym Leader – Brock.

Then, at the second Gym, the youths defeated the Cerulean City Gym Leader – Misty.

And at the third gym, they defeated the Vermillion City Gym Leader, Lt. Surge!

Trusting in the strength of their Pokémon, the youths overcame each Gym Leader who stood in their way.

But before long, a dark presence cast its shadow across their respective journeys...

That dark presence was Team Rocket – an evil organisation that used Pokémon to do its dirty work as it plotted world domination.

Team Rocket had even done away with a Marowak in Lavender Town, leaving the people there heartbroken.

The youths, along with their Pokémon, decided to put a stop to Team Rocket's crimes.

Team Rocket had opened a Game Corner in Celadon City to raise money, and the youths discovered that the Rocket Hideout was concealed in its basement.

Gathering courage, the youths snuck into the hideout. The Team Rocket Grunts were no match for the two youths, whose bravery was fuelled by good intentions, and step by step they approached the heart of the hideout.

Deep inside of the hideout, the youths faced off against Giovanni, the Team Rocket Boss. Giovanni's Pokémon were known for their overwhelming strength... but still the youths pushed their Pokémon's powers to the limit and defeated Team Rocket's wicked leader.

With Team Rocket defeated, the youths' glorious adventures resumed.

At the fourth Gym, the youths defeated the Celadon City Gym Leader- Erika.

At the fifth Gym, the youths defeated the Fuchsia City Gym Leader – Koga!

But the pair's string of victories was once again cut short by Team Rocket...

Team Rocket had taken over Saffron City and occupied the Silph Company building, right at its centre.

Once again the youths battled Team Rocket and Giovanni.

By now, the youths had grown so much that Giovanni was no match for their teams!

This time, Giovanni admitted defeat and declared Team Rocket disbanded!

Now the youths were unstoppable, beating Gym Leaders left and right!

At the sixth Gym, the youths defeated the Saffron City Gym Leader – Sabrina.

At the seventh Gym, the youths defeated the Cinnabar Island Gym Leader – Blaine!

But on reaching the last Gym – the Viridian City Gym – the youths received a shock.

The Gym Leader was none other than Giovanni, who planned to revive Team Rocket.

The pair's victory was never in doubt in the final showdown with Giovanni.

With a passion for justice and trust in Pokémon, the youths crushed Giovanni's villainous ambitions.

Eventually, after emerging from the long and arduous Victory Road, the youths reached the Pokémon League.

At long last, it was time to fulfil that early dream.

The battles with the Elite Four were far from easy, and the battle against the Pokémon League Champion was nearly overwhelming.

But they believed in their Pokémon, and fought with determination.

And, finally, victory was theirs!

Now, three years later, two more youths set out for adventure, this time in the land of Johto. Their very own Pokémon story is about to unfold. They'll face fun times and tough challenges, even their friendship will be put to the test. A world of dreams and adventures with Pokémon awaits them. And this is their story…

**A/N: So I'm going to leave it there; as I said, this is just the prologue; the real story begins with Chapter 1 (obviously). This may not have seemed important, but it's mostly to point out the a little history of this world, and with Red and Leaf taking on a more prominent role, to have this included in the story seemed important.**

**Anyway, enough from me, Chapter One: The Adventure Begins is up next…**


	2. The Adventure Begins

**Right, here's chapter one. Seemed pointless to upload a Prologue and then make you wait for the first chapter. I hate when people do that, so why should I do that to you? (Yes, I know I've got a Harry Potter story that has been up a while and existing only as a prologue, but were someone to review, I might be inclined to continue!) Anyway, here we go with the first chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own Pokémon; it belongs to Nintendo and others.**

Johto Adventure

Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins.

The alarm clock sounded, waking the boy named Gold from his slumber. Groggily, he reached out and silenced the noisy device and dragged himself out of bed and into the shower.

After showering, he returned to his room to get dressed. Once he was done he flicked on his top of the range computer and checked for e-mails. He grinned; one from Crystal, his best friend;

_Adventure!_

_Excited!_

_I love Pokémon!_

Short, and to the point.

He could see what she was so excited about.

Today was the day.

The day they had been waiting three years for. Ever since they had read about to adventures of two trainers in Kanto, Gold and Crystal had been eagerly awaiting the day that they could get their Pokémon trainer's licences and get their very own Pokémon.

And that day was today.

Turning the computer off, Gold went about packing his store-it-all rucksack. It was amazing; this thing was no bigger than a normal rucksack, but it fit so much more inside. In no time at all he had packed his one-man tent, his sleeping bag, three changes of clothes, and it still had room for loads more. When he had bought it, his mother had joked that he could probably fit a bicycle in there as well.

Gold doubted that.

On that note, however, it was time to say goodbye to his mother. He did one final sweep of the room before heading downstairs, where his mother handed him a Pokégear.

After a tearful goodbye (well, tearful on mother's part anyway), Gold left the house and went in search of Crystal.

Her mother and father were sat at the kitchen table as Gold entered their home. Crystal's mother was nice enough and sent Gold upstairs to find Crystal. Crystal's father, on the other hand, did not speak, just stared at Gold with a hard glare.

Upstairs, Gold found Crystal dashing around her untidy room trying to find all that she needed to pack.

Grinning, Gold leaned against the door, wondering how long it would take her to notice his presence.

After two and a half minutes, he got bored, so decided to get her attention.

"Hey."

Crystal nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise, which caused Gold to snigger. Something which earned him a Shellder Doll to the face.

In response, he picked up her Pikachu Doll and threw it towards her. She caught it and retaliated with both the Pikachu Doll and a Clefairy Doll.

She then ducked to avoid the Shellder Doll, dodged the Clefairy Doll, caught the Pikachu Doll but Gold scored a direct hit with a triple-whammy of her Jigglypuff Doll, her Charmander Doll and her Gengar Doll.

Gold opted for a drop-and-roll technique to dodge her return fire, manoeuvring out of the way of the Dolls Shellder, Pikachu, Clefairy, Jigglypuff, Gengar, Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Magikarp, Voltorb, Diglett, Machop, Grimer, Staryu, Poliwag, Oddish, Geodude, Weedle, Tentacool and Unown, but there was no escaping her Big Snorlax Doll. Her Big Lapras Doll joined it, and her Big Onix Doll was draped over them.

Crystal crouched down, patted him patronisingly on the head and said "Now you be a good boy and wait there whilst I finish getting ready, 'kay?"

Gold's response was to do his personal version of a Growl attack.

Crystal went about packing up her bag and then freed Gold from the Poké-Doll tomb before leading the way downstairs.

After being handed her own Pokégear by her mother, Crystal cheerfully bade her parents farewell, and Gold offered them a "See ya." His goodbye was returned by Crystal's mother, but not her father, who merely glared at the boy who was dragging his youngest daughter out into the big, wild world.

If Gold was unnerved by his best friend's father, he said nothing to her about it, and they made their way to Professor Elm's Pokémon Lab.

Inside they were greeted by the Professor himself. Well, truthfully speaking they both had to clear their throats quite loudly to get the oblivious man's attention. And even then they had to wait whilst the man tried to remember who they were and why they were here.

Gold wanted to prompt the man, but apparently Crystal thought it would be funny to let the guy work it out for himself.

When he did work it out, he had them sit down and watch a DVD that explained all the basics of being a trainer, from type match-ups to how to catch Pokémon using Pokéballs. Neither Gold nor Crystal had the heart to tell the man that they already knew all this stuff, so sat and watched it, hoping for some handy tips to come up.

When the DVD was over, they once again had to get Elm's attention. Once they had it, he began.

"Well, did you understand everything in the film?" he asked them as he led them over to a storage device.

"Yes." they replied in unison.

"Good. Now, the device over there contains three Pokéballs, each containing one Pokémon. You can choose one each. Go on."

Gold and Crystal made their way over to the device and the protective glass slid aside, allowing them to access the Pokéballs within. After some thought, Gold took the fire type Cyndaquil and Crystal took the grass type Chikorita.

With that sorted, the absent-minded Professor bade them farewell and returned to his studies. Gold and Crystal headed outside and looked around.

Gold could have sworn he saw someone sneaking about around the side of Professor Elm's Lab, but before he could make sure, Crystal grabbed him arm.

"C'mon Gold! New Pokémon are this way."

And so the duo headed out into the perils of Route 29.

Before long, Crystal spotted a Pokémon and proclaimed that she shall be the one to capture it.

Sentret were relatively common normal type Pokémon familiar to both Gold and Crystal and widely considered to be a good catch for any fledgling trainer.

Chikorita was promptly sent forth and ordered to use two Tackle attacks on the foe, receiving two Scratch attacks in return for her trouble.

"Right, that should have weakened it enough" said commented Crystal "Now to throw a Pokéball..."

And the search began, during which the Sentret merely blinked at her.

"You don't have any Pokéballs on you, do you?" asked Gold.

"Wait." replied Crystal "I'm sure I have some... wait... no... Phooey!"

"Before you ask, I don't have any either." said Gold "And we're unlikely to get any until we get to Cherrygrove City."

Crystal huffed "Oh, fine. Chikorita, finish the battle."

Chikorita nodded and charged the Sentret with another Tackle and sending it flying. At that point the Sentret decided to back down and let them pass.

And so they continued; defeating several Pidgey, Sentret and the occasional Rattata before making it to Cherrygrove City.

"You WHAT?" demanded Crystal.

The young Poké Mart employee winced at her tone before replying "I said we're fresh out of Pokéballs."

Gold sighed "Is there anywhere nearby where we can get some?"

The man shook his head "Best bet is to head on to Violet City. They're guaranteed to have Pokéballs."

"But that's miles and miles away." complained Crystal "And I want to catch a friend for my Chikorita."

"Sorry, little lady." said the man "Nothing I can do."

"Watch who yer callin' "_little lady_"!" yelled Crystal, waving her fist threateningly "I'll have you know I'm third tallest in my class!"

Gold gave a cough, which, for some strange reason, sounded strangely like "_cough-_ninth-_cough_."

Crystal turned a death glare onto him "You say somethin', Gold?"

Gold rolled his eyes and sighed before checking his Pokégear.

"C'mon Crystal. We'll heal our Pokémon at the Pokémon Centre, and then get moving towards Violet City via Route 30."

The trip along Route 30 was more irritating than anything. Pokémon kept appearing, but they could not capture them without any Pokéballs, and Chikorita and Cyndaquil could only fight so many of them before they had to have a break. The main problem was that this route consisted mostly of bug and flying type Pokémon, both of which Chikorita was weak against. Cyndaquil fared better, but an unfortunate encounter with a Weedle left it poisoned.

Turned out they were so preoccupied with trying to get Pokéballs that they forgot to buy any potions or antidotes.

The pair gathered up their Pokémon and made a run for it.

The poison that was ailing Cyndaquil did finally wear off, but he had so little health left it was pointless sending him into a fight.

Finally they came upon a house. Hoping to receive aid they headed inside.

Inside they came across two men working at computers.

One man grinned "Ah, these must be the new trainers Elm mentioned."

"Er, hi." offered Gold.

"Our Pokémon are hurt." said Crystal "Can you help them."

The man chuckled "But of course. They don't refer to me as Mr Pokémon for nothing, you know?"

With that he took the two Pokémon and began examining them as the second man approached the duo.

"Hm?" he mused, looking them over "Elm's new trainers eh?"

"Um, yeah." replied Gold, sounding a little unsure.

"Good to meet you." said the second man "I'm Professor Oak."

"Really?" asked Crystal excitedly as Gold's eyes bugged.

Oak chuckled "Yes, really. And what might your names be?"

"I'm Crystal, and this is by sidekick Gold."

Gold scowled. If anyone was the sidekick here it was her, though he knew better than to voice that opinion out loud.

"Well it's very nice to meet the both of you." said Oak "Now then, seeing as you are new trainers, I wonder if you'll be interested in these?"

He held out a pair of pocket-sized computer devices.

"Are those Pokédexes?" asked Gold, awe in his voice.

Oak chuckled "They most certainly are. One for each of you."

"Wow, thanks." said Crystal, as she and Gold took their new devices.

"For now those only contain data on Pokémon that you are likely to encounter in the Johto region. Once you have been training for a while, I will upgrade them to National Dex status, allowing you to view information on all six hundred and forty nine Pokémon currently known."

Gold let out an awed whistle as Mr Pokémon turned back to them.

"There, all done."

Cyndaquil and Chikorita looked much better.

"Thanks mister." chimed Crystal.

Mr Pokémon chuckled "Not a problem, my dear. Now, would it be possible for you two to do me a favour?"

"I suppose." replied Gold.

Mr Pokémon went over to a storage device and opened it. When he came back he was holding an egg.

"Could you take this egg to Professor Elm? I'd like him to take a look at it."

Crystal's face fell "But that's miles away."

Oak chuckled at her and said "Don't worry. I'm driving to Cherrygrove City. I can give you a lift that far."

Gold and Crystal accepted. They wanted to repay Mr Pokémon for healing their Pokémon, but walking all the way back home would be tedious.

Not too long later, Oak dropped them off and headed to the Pokémon centre whilst Crystal hurriedly led the way to the east of the city.

"Hurry up Gold!" she shouted whilst jogging backwards to face him "If we hurry, we can get home before it gets dark!"

Unfortunately, her jogging backwards meant that she was not looking where she was going, and she ran straight into a boy with dark red hair.

He must have been a lot sturdier than her because he only stumbled backwards from the knock whilst Crystal bounced off of him and fell flat on her face.

"Hey, watch it, bimbo." spat the boy as Gold hurried over and helped his friend to her feet.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I think so." Crystal replied, brushing the dirt off herself.

"You a trainer?" demanded the boy.

"Who wants to know?" replied Gold.

The boy snorted "Someone who wants a battle."

Gold eyed him suspiciously "Yeah, I'm a trainer."

"Good." replied the boy, taking a Pokéball "Totodile, stand by for battle."

"Toto-toto-diiile!" cried the small, blue bipedal crocodile-like Pokémon that emerged from the Pokéball.

Gold drew his Pokéball "Cyndaquil, you're up pal!"

"Cynda-quiiiil!" cried the fire-mouse Pokémon.

"Totodile, use Leer to lower Cyndaquil's defence."

Totodile gave Cyndaquil a menacing look, causing Cyndaquil to shiver a little in nervousness.

"Cyndaquil, return the favour. Use your Leer attack."

Cyndaquil copied Totodile's actions, getting a similar result.

"Totodile, use Scratch."

Totodile charged at Cyndaquil and took a swipe with its clawed hand.

Cyndaquil reeled from the damage, but was more than ready to return fire.

"Cyndaquil, Tackle attack."

Cyndaquil charged Totodile and collided with the foe.

"Scratch again!"

Totodile swiped is claw, this time connecting with the back of Cyndaquil's head.

"Fall back and use Smokescreen."

Cyndaquil bounded away from Totodile, turned and emitted a wave of smoke, which promptly surrounded Totodile.

"Focus, Totodile. Find Cyndaquil."

In the smoke, Totodile listened for Cyndaquil, but just as it pinpointed the fire mouse Pokémon, Cyndaquil charged in with another Tackle.

Totodile pushed itself up again, only to find itself on the receiving end of another Leer attack.

"Totodile, use your Leer."

Totodile stared down Cyndaquil, but Gold pressed the advantage.

"Cyndaquil, use another Tackle."

Cyndaquil charged forwards and rammed Totodile, sending it flying. This time when it hit the ground, it did not get up.

"Great job, Cyndaquil" cheered Gold "You did it."

The boy, meanwhile stepped up to his defeated Pokémon with a look of complete distain on his face "That was pathetic."

"Hey, it did its best." said Crystal "Cyndaquil's a higher level."

"Whatever." replied the boy, returning Totodile to its Pokéball and walking away.

"Wow, what a jerk." remarked Crystal.

Gold nodded and lead the way back along Route 29.

It was dark now, so the Pidgey and Sentret had returned to their nests, Rattata were out in greater numbers and the Hoothoot were out hunting.

When they got back to New Bark Town, they headed to Elm's Lab, but found a Police car outside.

"Professor Elm?" asked Gold once they were inside "What happened?"

"Oh, it's terrible! Some heartless person broke in here and stole the last Pokémon I had."

Gold and Crystal looked over at the device which had contained the three Pokémon they chose from. The glass was smashed, and the third Pokéball was missing.

"Wait, wasn't the last Pokémon a Totodile?" asked Gold.

"It was, why?" asked Elm.

"I battled a trainer on the edge of Cherrygrove City who used a Totodile." replied Gold.

"And he wasn't kind to it." added Crystal.

"This trainer," said a Police Officer "did he look like this?"

He handed Gold a printout taken from one of the security cameras. Gold examined it whilst Crystal peered over his shoulder.

"Yeah that's him." said Gold.

"Did you happen to get his name?" asked the Officer.

"No. All I can tell you is that he was in Cherrygrove City."

"And when was that?"

"Just as the sun was going down." replied Gold.

"He could still be there, at the Pokémon centre." offered Crystal "Gold beat him in battle, and I don't think he had any other Pokémon on him."

Just then the videophone in the corner rang. Elm went to answer.

"Ah, Professor Elm." greeted a cheerful Professor Oak "I see that Crystal and her sidekick have made it back to you safe and sound. Both show a lot of promise, you know? That third trainer leaves a quite a lot to be desired, though."

"Third trainer?" asked Elm.

"The one you gave the Totodile to." explained Oak "I met him here in Cherrygrove's Pokémon Centre. Seemed a bit harsh towards his Pokémon, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and let him have a Pokédex of his own."

"Professor Oak, that Totodile was stolen." said Elm.

"Stolen?"

"Yes. He broke in here and stole it."

Gold leaned in over Elm's shoulder "Professor Oak, is the kid still there?"

"No, I'm afraid not. He headed out on Route 30 about an hour ago."

"Did you happen to get his name?" asked Elm.

"Yes, I had to get it in order to program his Pokédex. He said to call him Silver."

"Thanks Professor." said Elm "Be sure to call the police if you should spot him again."

"Will do."

Not long later, the entire Police force had sped off to scour Cherrygrove City and Route 30, and Crystal, having handed over the mysterious Pokémon egg to Professor Elm, headed to her house for one more night's rest at home.

Gold, meanwhile, ventured a little way into Route 29. Professor Elm had been so grateful to them for bringing him the egg he had given the pair five Pokéballs each.

Gold was determined. He vowed never to lose against someone like Silver, but the guy's Totodile had the type advantage over Cyndaquil. The victory today was just luck; Cyndaquil was a higher level than Totodile, and Totodile had not learnt any water-type attacks yet. If it had, Cyndaquil would not have stood a chance.

To be able to continue to stand his ground against Silver, Gold would need more Pokémon. And here tonight, a short distance into Route 29 was as good a place as any to start that collection.

He had to wait a while, but eventually there was a rustle in a nearby tree. Slowly Gold drew two Pokéballs. One contained his new companion, Cyndaquil. The other was empty.

The Pokémon hopped down from the tree.

A Hoothoot, the owl Pokémon, and a species familiar to Gold.

In the blink of an eye, Cyndaquil was out of his Pokéball and had struck the flying type with his newly learned Ember attack.

Hoothoot's eyes lit up in a faint pink glow as it used Foresight to identify Cyndaquil in the dark.

It flew forward, intending to strike with a Tackle attack, but Gold ordered a Smokescreen from Cyndaquil.

The owl Pokémon lost its way in the smoke, but Cyndaquil was able to strike it with a Tackle.

Gold then threw the empty Pokéball, and Hoothoot vanished inside.

The ball rocked on the ground a few times as the exhausted Pokémon fought its capture, and then the ball went still.

Gold walked over, picked the ball up and pressed the small white button on it, letting the Pokémon out.

He grinned at his new capture "Welcome to the team, Hoothoot."

"Hoo." replied Hoothoot, before hopping up onto Gold's shoulder.

Together they, with Cyndaquil walking alongside, returned to Gold's house for a well earned rest.

Tomorrow, Gold and Crystal would set off again, better prepared this time.

Gold fully expected to encounter Silver again at some point, and when he did, Gold would be ready.


	3. Bugs, Bats and Back Again

**Here's Chapter Two. These were all already written up and took quite a while, so I don't know when Chapter Three will be coming along. Enjoy.**

**Usual Disclaimer: I don't own the Pokémon franchise, I'm just doing this for fun, I make no money. Pokémon belongs of Nintendo and associates.**

Chapter 2: Bugs, Bats and Back Again

Next morning, Gold and Crystal set off again.

This morning, Crystal's father had at least spoken to Gold, warning the boy to take care of his little girl, or else.

The 'or else' was not said, but the man's tone of voice was enough to get the message across.

Now the duo was, once again, nearing the end of Route 29, with the buildings of Cherrygrove City becoming ever more visible.

In the final patch of grass, they found a Sentret.

Or rather, the Sentret found them.

The small, brown scout Pokémon leapt out of the grass and used a Tackle on Crystal.

The gleam in its eyes told them that this Pokémon knew them, and when Crystal sent out Chikorita, the leaf Pokémon clearly recognised the foe.

It was the same Sentret that Crystal had fought and tried to capture the day before.

The scout Pokémon looked determined to win this time, but Chikorita had learnt new skills during the previous day's exploits.

"Chikorita, Razor Leaf!"

"Chiko!" cried the green grass type, swinging the big leaf on her head around and sending a shower of sharp leaves at Sentret, who took a direct hit.

The Sentret fought back with a Scratch attack, but a Tackle attack from Chikorita weakened it enough for Crystal to decide to throw a Pokéball.

Just like Gold's Hoothoot the night before, Sentret vanished inside the Pokéball, which rocked as the Pokémon inside fought its capture, then the ball went still.

"Gotcha!" cheered Crystal, before picking up the Pokéball and putting it in her pocket.

When the duo reached Cherrygrove City, their first stop was the Poké Mart, which had received a delivery of Pokéballs early that morning. They purchased ten each, and each received a free Premier Ball to go with them.

After a stopover at the Pokémon centre, they once again headed north on Route 30.

This time, with Cyndaquil's new fire move, and with help from Hoothoot and Sentret, keeping Chikorita out of harm's way, the bug Pokémon of the route posed little threat.

Though there were a lot of them.

Caterpie and Weedle kept appearing from all angles, severely inhibiting their progress, and the numerous wild Pidgey did not help matters.

Things seemed to get worse the further along the route they went, and soon they encountered new Pokémon. Whereas Caterpie and Weedle resembled caterpillars and grubs, Metapod and Kakuna resembled cocoons.

They could not do much, but many of them made their presence known, and soon an even greater problem presented itself when the shells of no fewer than fifty Kakuna split simultaneously and hatched into wasp-like Beedrill.

The entire swarm promptly attacked.

Cyndaquil took down as many as it could with repeated Ember attacks, but soon the group had no choice but to run.

Thankfully they made it to a house, and the owner was more than happy to let them in to escape the Beedrill.

Gold sighed with relief as the Beedrill swarm buzzed away.

"Thanks for that." he said to the man "There were just too many for us to handle."

"Don't worry about it kid." the man replied "Hey, if you're new trainers, you'll want these." He went over to a cupboard and pulled out two identical cases and handed one to each of them.

"What are they?" asked Crystal.

"Acorn cases." replied the man "As you go around, you'll find various trees that grow acorns of different colours. Collect as many as you can. I won't say why, but you'll want them by the time you get to Azalea Town."

"Okay, thanks!" replied the ever-cheerful Crystal.

After checking that the Beedrill were definitely gone, the pair left the house and continued north. After encountering so many Beedrill, they were thankful that all that seemed to be left were Caterpie and Weedle. At least their Pokémon could handle them. Along the rest of Route 30, they did discover a couple of acorn trees. Gold took a green apricorn, and Crystal took a pink one.

Soon the pair decided that it was best to set up camp for the night, only to be woken up at the first light of the sun, and not because they planned on it.

Bugs really were getting to be a pain, though this one was new. And apparently Crystal loved it and wanted one.

To be honest, Gold was not much of an expert on bug Pokémon. The only ones he knew about were the common ones seen everywhere, like Caterpie and Weedle, or the amazingly strong ones, like Heracross, Pinsir and Scizor. Therefore he found himself taking out his Pokédex in order to examine Crystal's find.

Apparently the ladybird-like Pokémon was a Ledyba.

Crystal, of course, knew that already, had had sent out Sentret to weaken it.

"Sentret, Quick Attack."

The rodent-like Pokémon charged full speed at the Ledyba and smashed into it. The bug-type fought back with Tackle, knocking Sentret onto its back.

"Sentret, use Scratch."

Sentret moved to swipe at Ledyba, but the bug Pokémon got in first with a Supersonic attack. Dizzy, Sentret attacked itself.

"What happened?" asked Crystal.

"Sentret's confused." replied Gold "Switch Pokémon before it damages itself too much."

Crystal nodded and performed the switch.

A Tackle attack from Chikorita was enough to knock the Ledyba down and allow Crystal to throw the Pokéball. The ball rocked three times, and then Ledyba was hers.

As she was congratulating her Chikorita, a young boy approached.

"Hey, you! Wanna battle?"

"Sure!" agreed Crystal, taking off her bag "Here, Gold. Hold this."

Gold grumbled but took her bag anyway.

Turns out the kid was called Joey, and he only had one Pokémon; a Rattata. Crystal decided to use Chikorita to fight it.

"Rattata, Quick Attack."

"Tackle it, Chikorita."

The two Pokémon charged and crashed into each other.

"Now use Razor Leaf."

Chikorita launched a flurry of razor-sharp leaves at Rattata, making a direct hit.

"Rattata, use Headbutt."

Rattata charged towards Chikorita, head lowered.

"Chikorita, dodge it."

Chikorita bounded out of Rattata's path, and the little rat Pokémon missed her, only stopping when it smashed into a small tree.

The Rattata turned and ran back to its trainer's side, completely ignoring the two Pokémon that fell out of the tree it just hit.

Neither Pokémon seemed happy about falling out of the tree, and clearly wanted someone to blame. Apparently Gold fit the bill quite nicely.

Gold gulped nervously as the huge, blue bug Pokémon with a massive horn and his purple monkey companion advanced on him.

"Er, Crystal?"

"Not now Gold! I'm winning."

He was going to have to face these two alone.

"Cyndaquil, Hoothoot, help me out here."

Both Pokémon appeared; ready to fight, though both were rather unnerved by the bug's huge horn and the monkey's tail hand.

"O-okay, guys. This is our first double-battle. Let's catch us these two Pokémon." Gold was trying to sound confident, but it seemed like neither of his Pokémon bought it. In fact Cyndaquil looked like he might cry.

Nonetheless, they would fight as best they could.

Gold new that the big bug was a Heracross, and the monkey was an Aipom. That's about as far as his knowledge of either of them went, and neither of them looked like they would wait for him to press some buttons on his Pokédex in order to find out more.

"Okay, Cyndaquil! Use Tackle on Heracross. Hoothoot, use Peck on Aipom."

On what to them seemed to be a wing and a prayer, both Pokémon attacked. Both attacks hit their mark, but neither foe seemed to feel much.

The horn of Heracross turned black as the bug Pokémon swung it, striking Hoothoot with a Night Slash attack. Aipom then struck Cyndaquil with an Astonish attack whilst crying out loudly, stunning the little fire type.

Cyndaquil would need a moment to get over that, so Hoothoot would have to cover for it "Hoothoot, Peck Aipom again."

Hoothoot flew forward and jabbed Aipom with its beak.

Hoping to get the monkey Pokémon out of the way, Gold threw a Pokéball at it.

Apparently it was too soon to try that, as Aipom caught it with the hand on the end of its tail and threw it back, whacking Gold in the face with it.

"You stupid little monkey! We'll show you! Cyndaquil, use Ember! Hoothoot, use Hypnosis."

Aipom shrieked in pain as Cyndaquil's flames scorched it, but was quickly put to sleep by Hoothoot.

"Hoothoot, Peck Heracross! Cyndaquil, Tackle it! Pokéball, go!"

Cyndaquil and Hoothoot struck Heracross as Gold threw a Pokéball at Aipom. This time the monkey was unable to catch it and throw it back. Aipom vanished inside and was caught. When Gold turned back to the second opponent, he saw it send Cyndaquil soaring with a Horn Attack. Hoothoot followed.

"Cyndaquil, Ember."

Cyndaquil turned and launched flames at the foe. Gold grabbed another Pokéball and threw it. Heracross vanished inside, only to break out again seconds later and begin repeatedly jabbing its horn at Cyndaquil with a Fury Attack.

As Cyndaquil was dodging as many strikes as it could, Chikorita dealt the finishing blow to Joey's Rattata.

"Heh, you're good." said Joey, recalling his Pokémon "Perhaps you ought to help your friend over there."

Crystal turned and gasped at the sight of a giant bug slamming Cyndaquil to the ground before turning and striking Hoothoot with its black-glowing horn.

She turned to her Pokémon "Chikorita, Razor Leaf!"

Chikorita nodded and sent a flurry of sharp leaves at Heracross. The attack itself did little damage, but it did provide enough of a distraction to allow Cyndaquil to strike the Single Horn Pokémon with another Ember attack. On Gold's command, Hoothoot sent the big bug to sleep using Hypnosis, and Gold threw another Pokéball. This time the capture attempt was successful.

Gold picked up the two Pokéballs containing his newly caught Pokémon and turned to Crystal "Well that was intense."

She grinned and remarked "And we haven't even had breakfast yet."

Later the pair continued north, Crystal used Ledyba to battle a trainer's Rattata, then Sentret to battle his Pidgey. Then Gold used Hoothoot and Cyndaquil to take down another trainer's two Caterpie.

After that, Crystal spotted her next Pokémon; one which, according to her, was just about the cutest thing she'd ever seen.

"_Marill_!" the round blue Pokémon cried its name as it launched its Water Gun attack at Chikorita, who shrugged off the attack and fought back with Razor Leaf.

Before the water type could get over the super effective move, Crystal threw a Pokéball and was quickly celebrating her capture.

At the north end of the route, they found a cave; Dark Cave.

Crystal had the great idea of going in. Gold followed.

Turns out it was called Dark Cave for a reason. And that was why the bat Pokémon, Zubat, loved it so much. Over the course of the next several hours, the pair discovered that running around in the dark, being chased by hundreds of bat Pokémon and tripping over moving rocks that they would later realise were Geodude, was actually less fun than running for their lives from a swarm of Beedrill. The experience was further marred when they took a little tumble into some water.

Well, truth be told, Gold managed to stop at the edge of the water. Crystal ran into him. Both fell in with a splash and had to swim through a shoal of floppy fish Pokémon called Magikarp. When they got out of the water, they were promptly attacked by the Zubat again.

Finally they found a way out of the cave, though not the way they went in. That did not matter, though. They were back in daylight. And there were no Zubat.

The first thing they did was get into a fight with some kid called Ted who was dressed in a boy scout's uniform, and his friend, a girl called Erin, who wore a girl scout's uniform.

Ted had a Mankey, which was a brown monkey with a pig's snout. Erin had two Ponyta; cream-coloured horses with manes and tails of flame.

"Come on then!" called Ted "Try and beat us! You don't stand a chance."

Erin swatted the back of his head "Don't be so big headed, Ted."

"Yeah, yeah." he waived her off.

Gold and Crystal exchanged looks and each grabbed a Pokéball.

"Hoothoot, Peck that Mankey."

"Go, Marill; use Water Gun on Ponyta."

Both Pokémon erupted from their respective Pokéballs and went straight into attack mode, both moves being super effective.

"Fight back Mankey! Use Karate Chop on that Marill."

"Ponyta, use Ember on Hoothoot."

"Marill, counter with Water Gun!"

"Hoothoot, dodge!"

Mankey swung in for a Karate Chop, only to receive a face full of water from Marill. Hoothoot tried to dodge Ponyta's fiery attack, but was hit all the same.

"Hoothoot, Peck again."

"One more Water Gun, Marill."

Hoothoot flew in and pecked Mankey whilst another spray of water from Marill struck Ponyta. Both Pokémon fell.

"Nice job, Ponyta." said Erin, recalling her Pokémon "You did well."

"How could you lose, Mankey?" growled Ted, throwing a tantrum.

Erin rolled her eyes and sent out her second Ponyta, which got in a quick Ember to bring down Hoothoot before dodging Marill's next Water Gun and using Tackle on it.

"Wow, this one's fast!" remarked Gold as he recalled Hoothoot "Go, Aipom."

"This one has been with me longer." replied Erin "Flame Wheel!"

Ponyta became surrounded by fire and charged Aipom.

"Dodge, then use Scratch."

Aipom rolled out of harm's way and bought her tail-hand down to Scratch Ponyta as it passed.

Unfortunately, Ponyta's body was still surrounded by flames so, whilst Aipom did inflict a nasty scratch along the horse-Pokémon's flank, it got a burnt tail-hand for her efforts.

Aipom cried in agony, taking her tail-hand in her paws and blowing on her blistering fingers, completely missing her trainer's shout of "Look out!"

She did, however, feel the twin impact of Ponyta's Double Kick.

Aipom flew through the air after having two hooves smash her in the face. Now she was angry.

Springing to her feet, she performed the Astonish attack her trainer called for perfectly.

Startled, Ponyta reared up, taking a few steps back, right within range of Marill's Water Gun.

The forceful shot of water smashed into Ponyta's flank, sending the fire-type tumbling to the ground.

Erin, unlike her friend, was humble in defeat. She recalled her Ponyta to its Pokéball, shook hands with her two opponents, congratulating them on their win, and then dragged Ted off for a word.

Gold and Crystal found that the only way they could go, unless they wanted to head back into Dark Cave, was south. So they did.

They soon encountered a hiker, named Bailey, whose team of Pokémon consisted of five Geodude. Gold took on two with Heracross and its Brick Break attack, before allowing Crystal and her Chikorita to handle the rest with a few Razor Leaf attacks.

After a hop over a low ridge, they ran into a new foe.

Short, light blue in colour, and admittedly rather cute, Phanpy resembles a baby elephant.

Seeing as cute Pokémon were usually her forte, Crystal reached for Chikorita's Pokéball, only to be beaten to the punch by Gold's cry of "Cyndaquil, use Quick Attack."

With a high speed run up, Cyndaquil rammed itself into Phanpy, knocking it back.

Cute it may be, but there was no way Gold was going to let Crystal have this Pokémon. During all those years of waiting to be able to become a Pokémon trainer, Gold had thought long and hard about what he wanted his final line-up to look like. Only three Pokémon were ever a constant in that line up; Cyndaquil's final evolved form, Typhlosion, was the first, and would burn its way through many foes. Heracross was next, using many strong, physical attacks to beat down the opposition. And then there was Donphan, the Pokémon this Phanpy would one day evolve into. With its power, it would be able to utilise moves like Rollout, Earthquake and Giga Impact to give nearly any foe a hard time.

With Cyndaquil and Heracross already in his line up, Gold was already part-way there. Now he needed this Phanpy.

"Cyndaquil, Ember!"

The flames on Cyndaquil's back flared up, before Cyndaquil unleashed several small balls of flame at Phanpy.

Phanpy, however, was stronger than that. It charged forward, straight through Cyndaquil's Ember, and smashed into Cyndaquil with great force, before wincing with pain. It had also hurt itself with the force of the Take Down attack, which had thrown Cyndaquil through the air, to land a short distance away.

"Cyndaquil, use Quick Attack, again."

Surrounded in a slight glow, Cyndaquil charged forward again. Phanpy retaliated with another Take Down.

The two Pokémon collided, pushing against each other in a test of strength, before both jumped back. Cyndaquil landed first, whilst Phanpy performed a back-flip before landing and hitting the ground with full force.

With a white beam of energy, the ground began to open up. The ground groaned ominously as the large crack continued opening, racing towards Cyndaquil, who vanished inside.

"Holy Hell!" cried Crystal "That thing knows Fissure!"

When it all seemed to be over, Gold approached the large opening in the ground.

There was Cyndaquil, part-way down on a ledge.

He had fainted.

Gold took his Pokéball and recalled Cyndaquil, before turning back to face Phanpy, who looked ready and eager for more.

"Think you're tough, do you?" asked Gold, taking another Pokéball "Well, let's see how you handle this! Heracross, you're up!"

The huge, dark blue Single Horn Pokémon erupted from its Pokéball, eager to fight.

"Heracross, Horn Attack!"

The horn on Heracross' head began to glow slightly, and the large Pokémon flew forward to strike.

At the same time, Phanpy lowered its head, and became surrounded by whitish-blue glow. With a cry, it charged forward at an alarming pace, intending to meet Heracross head on.

The force of impact threw both Pokémon back. A dazed Phanpy landed on its feet.

Heracross crashed into the ground, and did not get up.

Gold recalled Heracross, before facing Phanpy "You're strong, little guy."

Crystal took out her Pokédex and looked up the move Phanpy had just used.

"Gold, that was one hell of a powerful Take Down."

With a feeble cry, Phanpy slumped over.

"What happened?" whispered Crystal.

"Take Down is a powerful move, but can badly hurt the user as well as the opponent." said Gold, before approaching the wild Pokémon before him.

Phanpy noticed his approach and watched with fear in its eyes as he got closer.

Gold kneeled down in front of Phanpy, and the frightened Pokémon did the only thing it could, utilising Defence Curl in an attempt to make itself appear small and insignificant.

Gold took his bag off his back and undid it. Reaching in, he rummaged around until he found what he was looking for. Withdrawing his hand, he held it out to Phanpy, who flinched.

Gold opened his fingers, revealing the Oran Berry in his hand.

Seemingly against Phanpy's will, its trunk moved from where it was curled between its front legs and turned to sniff at the offered berry.

"I'm not going to hurt you Phanpy."

The Long Nose Pokémon raised its head to look at him.

Then its trunk extended and took the offered berry.

Gold picked up the eating Phanpy before turning to Crystal "Let's find a Pokémon Centre."

Crystal pulled out her Pokégear and examined the map. "Huh, Dark Cave seems to have taken us to Route 46."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It will bring us back to Route 29."

"Crap."

**And I think we'll finish there. I'm well aware that you cannot get to Route 46 via Dark Cave without either Rock Smash or Surf, but hey!**

**Plenty of captures in this one: Gold now has Cyndaquil, Hoothoot, Aipom and Heracross, whilst Crystal has Chikorita, Sentret, Ledyba and Marill. I know that some of you may be wondering just how they encountered Heracross, Aipom, Marill and Phanpy where they did but if you check the Generation 2 games, particularly Crystal version, all Pokémon occur where stated (Though there is like a 5% chance of finding Marill on Route 30, personally I never found one there).**

**Anyway, there is more coming soon! Until then, see ya!**


	4. Violet City or Bust

**Here's Chapter Three. Enjoy**

**Usual Disclaimer: I don't own the Pokémon franchise, I'm just doing this for fun, I make no money. Pokémon belongs of Nintendo and associates.**

Chapter 3: Violet City or Bust!

Upon reaching the Cherrygrove City Pokémon Centre, Gold and Crystal made their way up to the desk, placing Phanpy and the Pokéballs containing their Pokémon on the counter.

The nurse eyed Phanpy questioningly.

"You know, it's normal for trainers to keep their Pokémon inside Pokéballs, at least when handing them over for healing."

"It's wild." replied Gold "I think something may be wrong with it."

The nurse nodded before taking the Pokémon off to be healed.

Crystal took a worried Gold by the arm and led him to the cafeteria for some lunch.

As they ate, neither said anything. Gold was far too worried about Phanpy, and Crystal decided now was not the best time to interrupt his musings.

His musings, however, were interrupted by two people they recognised entering the room.

"Aha. If it isn't Gold and Crystal." said Professor Oak "I trust you are well?"

"We're okay Professors" Crystal answered for both of them "But-" she broke off, glancing at Gold, who took over.

"We found a Phanpy. Something's not right with it."

Professor Elm frowned "I've heard numerous trainers use that sentence when referring to what they consider a weak Pokémon-"

"It's not weak." interrupted Gold "Actually it's strong. Too strong."

"What do you mean?" asked Oak.

"We found it on Route 46. I know Phanpy are rare there, and I don't think you usually find Phanpy there that are strong enough to know Take Down and Fissure."

"Yes, that is puzzling." said Elm "Normally any Phanpy found in that area know little more than Tackle, Growl and Defence Curl. To find one knowing Take Down... well, I suppose it could have wandered south from Route 45 where they are naturally stronger, but Fissure?"

"It used Fissure to take out my Cyndaquil." said Gold "And Take Down against Heracross for a rather quick win."

"Hmm." hummed Oak, thoughtfully "Phanpy do not normally learn Fissure. The only way to get one to know those moves is by breeding with Pokémon it won't normally encounter; Camerupt and Dugtrio for Fissure. Where is it now?"

"With the nurse." replied Crystal.

"You caught it?" asked Elm.

Gold shook its head "After it keeled over, I was too worried about it to even think of catching it."

"What happened?" asked Oak.

"At first I fought it with Cyndaquil. Instead of trying to dodge its Ember, Phanpy used Take Down to charge straight into it, then Cyndaquil. I had Cyndaquil use Quick Attack, Phanpy used Take Down again. Then Phanpy used Fissure. Cyndaquil didn't stand a chance. After that, I switched to Heracross. Phanpy wasn't even intimidated. It just charged into Heracross' Horn Attack with Take Down. Heracross fainted instantly, but Phanpy collapsed shortly after. When I battled it, it seemed to be eager to take on anything, almost to the point where it seemed to be trying to prove itself. But when I approached it after it collapsed, it was so frightened. It used Defence Curl to try and hide. It was almost like it thought..." he trailed off.

"Like what?" asked Oak.

Gold shook his head, eyes on the floor.

"Like it thought Gold would hit it." answered Crystal.

Elm looked at Oak "An abusive trainer?"

Oak nodded "Sounds like it."

Just then, the nurse came up to the group, carrying two trays of Pokéballs.

"You're Pokémon are healed. But the Phanpy will have to be kept in overnight. If I didn't know it was a wild Pokémon, I'd have to say it seemed to be under the ownership of an abusive trainer."

"It may well have been, and in the not too distant past." replied Oak "Might I see it?"

"Of course, Professor." replied the nurse, leading Professor Oak out of the room.

Crystal watched them go, before turning to Professor Elm.

"Have they had any luck catching the kid that broke into your lab?"

"No. No, there's been nothing. Since Oak saw him here, no one has seen anything. It's as though he just disappeared into thin air. But, I suppose if he had a bicycle, or a Pokémon that he could fly on, or even access to a car, he could be anywhere in Johto by now. For all we know, he could be in Kanto by now."

"I'm sorry, Professor." said Gold.

"Don't be." said Elm, pulling up a chair "It's not your fault."

Moments later, Oak returned.

"I'd definitely have to say that Phanpy was once owned by an abusive trainer. The nurse is running scans and searching through records to see if she can find who it belonged to."

The group sat in relative silence for a bit, until Professor Elm decided to take their minds off the grim subject and onto other things.

"Well, you two, you've mentioned new captures, how about giving us a look see?"

Relieved to be able to think about something other than a stolen Totodile and an abused Phanpy, Gold and Crystal gladly showed off their Pokémon.

"Oho," chuckled Elm "Impressive, both of you. Yes, Hoothoot, Aipom and Heracross compliment your Cyndaquil nicely, Gold, and Sentret, Ledyba and Marill to team up with Chikorita, Crystal, very well done."

"How about a little battle to check out their strengths?" asked Oak.

"Good idea, Professor." chimed Crystal "I've waited ages to do this; Gold, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle."

Outside the Pokémon centre, the two professors watched as the two friends stood opposite each other, ready to do battle.

"Seeing as I challenged you, Gold, you can have first choice."

"Gee, thanks. Aipom, you're up."

"Sentret, go for it."

The two normal types appeared from their Pokéballs, ready for a fight.

"Aipom, use Scratch."

"Quick Attack, Sentret."

Sentret charged in, Aipom swung her tail. Both attacks met with a devastating force for two Pokémon at low level.

"Sentret, again, Quick Attack."

"Sand Attack"

Sentret sped in for another attack, but received a load of sand in her face for her efforts. Blinded, she tripped over her own feet and crashed to the ground, right next to Aipom, who, upon her trainer's command, swung her tail hand down to administer another Scratch.

"Defence Curl."

Sentret curled into a ball in order to take less damage, but Gold and Aipom were stronger. Another Scratch and it was over for Sentret.

Grumbling, Crystal recalled her Pokémon and sent out another "Go, Chikorita."

"_Chikoh_!" cried the small grass type upon appearing.

"Chikorita, use Razor Leaf!"

"Aipom, use Astonish."

As Chikorita began to wave the left on her head to attack, Aipom shouted loudly whist pulling an awful face, stunning Chikorita and causing her to flinch.

"Now use Fury Swipes!" commanded Gold.

Aipom jumped at Chikorita and began repeatedly scratching her, landing multiple blows.

"Poison Power." ordered Crystal.

Still reeling from the damage done by Aipom, Chikorita swung the left on her head and released a cloud of purple pollen. Unable to dodge, Aipom inhaled the toxic substance and quickly became rather ill.

"Let's see a Razor Leaf." shouted Crystal.

Another wave of the leaf on her head, and Chikorita sent a flurry of sharp leaves at Aipom, cutting into it and throwing it back.

"Aipom, get up and use Scratch." said Gold.

"Chikorita hit it with Tackle."

Aipom stood, ready to attack, but the poison coursed through its body, delaying the strike long enough for Chikorita to get in close and ram into Aipom with full force. Aipom reeled from the blow but still managed a swipe of its tail, scratching Chikorita's side.

Both Pokémon tumbled to the ground, exhausted.

"Use Synthesis to heal yourself." Crystal called to Chikorita.

Chikorita raised her leaf and angled it towards the sun. The leaf began to glow as it absorbed sunlight.

"Don't let it heal!" shouted Gold "Aipom, use Fury Swipes."

Aipom pushed itself up, but the poison coursed through its body again. Weakened beyond its endurance, Aipom fell to the ground with a thud.

"Nice job, Aipom." said Gold, recalling the fainted monkey-like Pokémon to its pokéball.

He grabbed another "Go Cyndaquil, use Ember."

Upon appearing from within his pokéball, Cyndaquil spat out small flames which sizzled against Chikorita's body.

The grass type cried out in pain.

"Chikorita, use Tackle." shouted Crystal.

Chikorita moved to charge forward, but a flame engulfed her body.

"Looks like Chikorita's got a burn." observed Gold "Cyndaquil, finish this with Quick Attack."

Cyndaquil charged at high speed towards Chikorita and collided with it. Chikorita flew through the air and crashed to the ground a few feet behind Crystal, out cold.

Scowling, Crystal recalled Chikorita and sent out her next choice.

"Marill, Water Gun."

The round blue Pokémon appeared in a flash of light from the pokéball and spewed a stream of water at Cyndaquil before Gold could react.

Cyndaquil never stood a chance.

Gold recalled Cyndaquil and sent out his next choice.

"_Heracroh!_" growled Heracross upon appearing on the battlefield.

"Heracross use Horn Attack." shouted Gold.

"Water Gun!" shouted Crystal, frantically.

The jet of water that Marill sent at Heracross splashed harmlessly at the bug type's glowing horn, which slammed Marill into the ground moments later.

"Now Night Slash." shouted Gold.

Heracross' horn turned black and Heracross swiped it at Marill, sending the smaller Pokémon soaring, only to stop abruptly when it crashed into the side of the Pokémon centre.

Getting a little mad now, Crystal recalled the fainted Marill to her pokéball and then sent out her final option.

"Ledyba, Comet Punch."

The bug-type Pokémon flew towards Heracross with its fists raised.

"Fury Attack." commanded Gold.

Ledyba launched a relentless attack of repeated punches, all of which were easily parried by Heracross using his horn.

Frustrated, Crystal decided to change tactics.

"Ledyba, use Supersonic."

Ledyba fell back and then emitted a high-pitched noise, which accompanied several light blue rings that struck Heracross, confusing it.

"Yeah, how d'ya like me now?" taunted Crystal as Heracross wobbled around dizzily.

Gold recalled Heracross to its pokéball to end the confusion and sent out Hoothoot.

"Hypnosis." ordered Gold.

Hoothoot's eyes glowed red. Ledyba's eyes did the same, and then the bug Pokémon fell asleep.

"Now Peck." ordered Gold.

Hoothoot flew forward and jabbed Ledyba with its beak.

Ledyba continued to sleep.

"Peck it again." said Gold.

Hoothoot jabbed Ledyba with its beak again.

Ledyba continued to sleep.

"Peck it again." said Gold.

Hoothoot jabbed Ledyba with its beak again.

Ledyba continued to sleep.

"Peck it again." said Gold.

Hoothoot jabbed Ledyba with its beak again.

Ledyba woke up.

"Peck it again." said Gold.

Hoothoot jabbed Ledyba with its beak again.

Ledyba fainted.

"Damn it!" cursed Crystal, loudly.

"What's all this noise?" demanded the Nurse, stepping outside "There are sick Pokémon trying to sleep in here."

"Sorry." mumbled Crystal.

Shaking her head the nurse turned to Gold "The Phanpy is healed."

"Did you find anything that might point to who it belonged to?" asked Gold.

The nurse shook her head.

Gold went inside the building and quickly found the room where Phanpy lay resting on a bed.

He sat down on a chair.

"What kind of trainer would be abusive to their Pokémon?" he wondered aloud. Phanpy heard him and raised his head to look at him.

Gold reached out gently and placed his hand on Phanpy's head. This time he did not flinch.

"You know if you were my Pokémon, I'd never hurt you."

Phanpy tilted his head to the side, giving Gold a considering look.

Gold took out a pokéball from his pocket.

"Well, what do you think Phanpy? Do you wanna be a part of my team?"

Crystal looked up when the door to Phanpy's room opened and Gold stepped out. He was holding a pokéball.

"Well?" she asked.

Gold grinned and held up the pokéball "Got him."

"Yay!" cheered Crystal loudly and excitedly before throwing her arms around Gold.

"_Ahem!_"

Blushing furiously, Gold pushed Crystal away from him and turned to look at Professor Oak.

"Take good care of that Phanpy." the Professor said, before turning to leave.

Gold and Crystal decided to leave as well. They bid farewell to Professor Elm and then headed off back to Route 30. Perhaps this time they would finally arrive at Violet City, which would be nice, given how many times they had walked this route in an attempt to get there before.

Any bugs they met were roasted by Cyndaquil and pecked to pieces by Hoothoot, Rattata's were pounded by Heracross and scratched by Sentret and Aipom, Birds and Bats were shot down by Marill's Water Gun, and an apparent swarm of the tadpole Pokémon Poliwag were hacked apart by sharp leaves courtesy of Chikorita. Gold and Crystal were getting to Violet City **today **and no-one and nothing was going to stop them.

Unless…

As the passed the entrance to Dark Cave, a figure came clambering out.

Gold's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in anger "YOU!"

Silver the Totodile thief turned his eyes to the pair and gave a dismissive snort "You again?"

"Hand over the Totodile!" demanded Gold.

Silver sneered and raised a pokéball "You'll have to fight me first. Go, Zubat."

Gold grit his teeth. If it was a battle this guy wanted, then it was a battle he was going to get!

"Hoothoot! Let's crush this jerk!"

The owl and the bat faced each other in mid-air, awaiting their instruction.

"Hoothoot, Hypnosis!"

"Dodge it and then use Supersonic!"

Hoothoot emitted a red ring from his eyes and it headed straight for Zubat, who flew in a corkscrew manoeuvre to avoid it and then let out a long, loud blast of sound. Hoothoot took a direct hit and dropped to the ground where it began thrashing about in confusion.

"Leech Life." ordered Silver.

Zubat swooped down and emitted a red beam at Hoothoot. The beam struck and then returned to Zubat, taking some of Hoothoot's health with it.

Seeing where this was going, Gold recalled Hoothoot to his pokéball before sending out a second Pokémon.

"That's enough, Hoothoot. Aipom, you're up!"

Silver snorted "What a pathetic looking animal. Zubat, Supersonic."

"Aipom, use your tail to jump."

As Zubat unleashed another confusing wave of sound, Aipom pushed off from the ground with her tail and launched straight into the air.

"Now use Scratch!"

Aipom flipped in the air and brought her tail hand around and scratched Zubat's side, leaving a vicious wound.

"Wing Attack." commanded Silver as Aipom landed. Zubat's winged glowed white and the bat Pokémon flew fast towards Aipom.

"Astonish." ordered Gold.

Aipom looked directly at the incoming Zubat, pulled an ugly face and shouted loudly. Zubat flinched and its Wing Attack failed.

"Now Scratch again."

Aipom leapt at Zubat and scratched it with his tail-hand again. Zubat let out a pitiful cry and dropped to the ground.

"Alright," said Gold as Silver recalled Zubat to its pokéball "I battled you. And I won so hand over the Pokémon that you stole."

"But we're not done battling yet." said Silver with a smirk as he threw another pokéball "Teddiursa, stand by for battle!"

In a flash of light, one of the cutest-looking Pokémon in the world stood before them, resembling a brown teddy bear, Teddiursa stood sucking on its paw.

"Cutie!" squealed Crystal rather inappropriately and Gold gave Silver a questioning look.

"A cuddly little thing like that? Really?"

Silver smirked "It's cute now, but a Teddiursa will eventually evolve into Ursaring, one of the toughest Pokémon around. Now quit stalling and battle. Teddiursa, use Fury Swipes."

With a vicious snarl, Teddiursa raced towards Aipom, the claws on both front paws aglow.

"Sand Attack." shouted Gold.

Aipom's tail swung, scooped up a load of sand and then threw it at the incoming Teddiursa, but it was too late. Even with its eyes full of sand, Teddiursa was too close to miss. It took one swipe, two, three and finally four swipes, each one landing a hit on Aipom, who reeled from the onslaught.

She stumbled. And then fell.

"Thanks Aipom, you did well." said Gold, recalling Aipom to her pokéball before taking another and throwing it "Hoothoot, you're back in."

"Huh. Pathetic." said Silver dismissively "Teddiursa, Faint Attack."

Teddiursa completely faded from sight for a few moments, and then something slammed into Hoothoot and sent it crashing into a tree. As Hoothoot tumbled to the ground, out cold, Teddiursa reappeared as it landed on all fours.

"If that's the best you can do, then you might as well give up training now." remarked Silver as Gold recalled Hoothoot to its pokéball.

Gold refused to rise to the bait, and instead unleashed his next Pokémon "Phanpy, crush this menace."

"Teddiursa, Fury Swipes."

"Take Down, Phanpy."

Claws aglow, Teddiursa charged in, but Phanpy was moving towards it at full power. The two Pokémon collided, but it was Phanpy that won out, throwing Teddiursa back. It tumbled across the ground, out cold.

Without comment, Silver recalled Teddiursa to its pokéball and sent out another.

It was the Totodile. Apparently Silver was banking on Gold not wanting to hurt the stolen Pokémon. It worked, and Phanpy was taken down by a powerful Water Gun.

"Sorry Phanpy." Gold apologised once the ground-type was back inside his pokéball. He grabbed another "Heracross, let's do this!"

"Totodile, Water Gun!" ordered Silver.

"Heracross use Horn Attack!" shouted Gold.

Horn aglow, Heracross charged towards Totodile, the spray of the Water Gun attack splashing harmlessly against the horn. With a powerful thrust Heracross had Totodile pinned up against the rocks of Dark Cave.

Resigned to having to take out Totodile in order to save it, Gold called out "Finish it with Night Slash."

Heracross' horn turned black and the massive bug/fighting Pokémon swiped it across Totodile's body, throwing the smaller Pokémon to the side.

Giving a growl on annoyance, Silver recalled Totodile to its Pokéball and sent out another.

Looking like some kind of plant with a yellow flower bud for a head, Bellsprout was a grass type.

Gold raised a questioning eyebrow "You think that little thing's going to bring down my Heracross?"

"That depends." answered Silver "Bellsprout, Stun Spore."

Bellsprout threw its head back and the jutted it forward, unleashing a cloud of yellow pollen across the battlefield at Heracross who, upon breathing it in, slumped forward, clearly in pain.

"Wha'?" exclaimed a dumbfounded Gold.

"That was Bellsprout's Stun Spore." explained Silver "It paralyzes an opponent, making it hard for them to attack. Now Bellsprout, Vine Whip!"

Two vines extended from Bellsprout's body and began striking Heracross like a whip.

Not wanting his Pokémon to faint, Gold grabbed up Heracross' pokéball and recalled it. Fortunately he had just the thing to bring down a grass type.

"Cyndaquil, come out and roast this guy! Ember!"

Cyndaquil appeared in a flash of light from his pokéball and immediately launched a barrage of small flames at Bellsprout. Silver had no time to react, and the grass-type Pokémon collapsed.

"There." said Gold "You got any more Pokémon?"

"Nope." replied Silver.

"Then hand over the Totodile." said Crystal.

"Nope." replied Silver, again "Bellsprout, Poison Powder."

Bellsprout might not have been able to battle anymore, but that did not stop it from emitting a cloud of purple pollen from its mouth. The cloud was a lot larger than the Stun Spore had been, and Gold, Crystal and Cyndaquil were left retching as the pollen filled their lungs.

When the air finally cleared, Silver and Bellsprout were gone.

Feeling sick, Gold recalled Cyndaquil and then headed off towards Violet City with Crystal. They passed a couple of eager looking trainers who, thankfully, noticed that the duo were in a bad way and let them pass unimpeded. They struggled through the city gate and, finally, took their first steps into Violet City.

At long last, they had made it.

**Okay, I'm leaving it there. Gold now has Phanpy, and they had finally made it to Violet City, after that rather unpleasant encounter with Silver. Yeah, he's going to show up more often than in the games. Until I wrote Gold and Crystal's battle, I had no idea who tedious the early battles could be, especially when all they really know is Tackle/Scratch/Peck, Razor Leaf/Ember/Water Gun and Growl/Tail Whip/Leer/Sand Attack. Roll on Fire Blasts, Solar Beam, Hydro Pumps, Double-Edge's, Dragon Pulses, Shadow Balls and Blizzards! Awesome moves make battles awesome.**

**Anyway, until next time, see ya!**


	5. Author's Message

Author's Note.

Hello to everyone who favourited this story, I hope you enjoyed it.

This is just a little announcement to say that this stry has been put on hiatus for now in favour of a more ambitious project.

It is a new Pokémon story that will be my attempt to rewrite the Anime series, beginning with the Original Series (The Kanto Arc). It will feature familiar characters (Ash, Misty, Brock, Gary etc.) familiar Pokémon (Pikachu, Charizard, Squirtle, Psyduck, Onix etc.) familiar places and familiar storylines. However there will be additions; new rivals, new captures, new evolutions, new friends and new adventures.

Each chapter will be considered an episode and some (like the first one) will vary only slightly in their plot. Others will be completely new. Also, Ash will have to actually battle the Gym Leader if he wants to get the badge, and there will be a little less Jessie and James constantly interrupting everything.

The link can obviously be found on my profile; check it out. Hopefully you will enjoy it.


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